Sweet sensations for the festive season

The excitement builds as soon as my children’s school Christmas fair takes place. The festive season provides so many opportunities to spend time together. One tradition my kids adore at this time of year is creating a winter wonderland with their dad. Together, they cover a cereal box with tinfoil and collect little twigs for trees, cones for bushes and some holly. A dusting of spray snow transforms everything into a magical lakeside scene.

What better way to get your house looking and feeling festive than creating a gorgeous chalet-style gingerbread house scene? The simple A-frame structure is foolproof so you will be able to construct it with minimal fuss and spend more time on those extra details that make it look so pretty.

There is still lots of time to think about homemade gifts. Baking these mini gift cakes will fill your home with festive aromas and bring festive cheer to those special people in your life.

The ultimate meal of the year deserves a showstopping dessert and this glorious Christmas Pavlova shaped like a wreath will have everyone re-energised and ready to play charades. Adding exotic berries, edible flowers, toasted nuts and mini meringues to the berries makes it look so much more elaborate, with very little extra work.

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MINI CHRISTMAS CAKES

Ingredients

Makes four small fruitcakes. You will need 10cm cake tins

100ml whiskey (plus 20ml for drizzling over baked cakes)

375g luxury mixed fruit

1 cinnamon stick

100g butter (plus extra for greasing tins)

225g caster sugar

1½tsp mixed spice

Zest of one orange, juice of half

425g can pineapples (chopped finely) including juice

2 large eggs

250g self-raising flour

1tsp baking powder

50g ground almonds

Icing

160g marzipan, golden in colour

160g ready-to-roll white icing (fondant)

Icing sugar, to roll out icing

4 cinnamon sticks

1 orange, sliced

100g sugar

Method

In a large heavy-based saucepan, gently warm the whiskey and stir in the mixed fruit and cinnamon stick, then turn off the heat and leave to soak for at least one hour.

Add in the butter, sugar, mixed spice, zest and juice from one orange, chopped pineapple and pineapple juice. Bring the ingredients to a simmer in the saucepan, stirring well. Allow to simmer for 45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180ºC fan and use some extra butter to grease four mini 10cm cake tins with parchment paper. Transfer the mixture from the saucepan to a large bowl and allow to cool. Remove the cinnamon stick before mixing in the eggs until combined.

Sieve together the flour and baking powder and fold them into the fruit mixture with the ground almonds. Divide the batter evenly between the cake tins, filling to two thirds full. Bake in the preheated oven for one hour. Then reduce the heat to 160ºC fan and continue baking for a further 20 mins.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin, drizzling whiskey over the tiny cracks on the surface using a teaspoon (if you are going to ice the cakes at a later date, drizzle whiskey over each cake 24 hours later to keep the cake moist, and once a week for two-three weeks, storing tightly wrapped in an airtight container).

For the icing: on a work surface dusted with icing sugar, roll out the marzipan and white icing separately to 3mm thickness. Use a 10cm cutter to stamp out circles. Cover each cake with a circle of marzipan and white icing.

To dry orange slices: in a saucepan, combine 100g water with 100g sugar, bring to the boil and simmer for five minutes. Add orange slices and simmer for 10 minutes. Place orange slices on parchment paper on a baking sheet and bake in a warm oven at 140ºC for at least 30 minutes until dried out.

Variation

If you don’t have mini cake tins, you can also make this cake in a single 20cm loose-bottomed cake tin with deep sides and lined with parchment paper. Bake as per the timings for the mini cakes.

GINGERBREAD HOUSE WITH ROYAL ICING

I always make lots of dough so I can cut out extra biscuits to eat while admiring the beautiful house. Enjoy hours of fun as you create your own picture-perfect house with lots of prettily piped white icing. The only limitation is your imagination. Stick any edible sweets and baubles to the icing while it is still wet.

Ingredients

Makes one

Gingerbread dough

150g brown muscovado sugar

150g golden syrup

1tsp mixed spice (or allspice)

1tbsp ground ginger

½ an orange, zest and juice

200g butter, cut into cubes

400g self-raising flour, sieved

Royal icing

250g icing sugar, sieved

2 egg whites

1tsp lemon juice

Other decorations

175g ready-to-roll white icing (fondant)

Edible sprinkles and baubles

Method

Place the muscovado sugar, golden syrup, mixed spice, ground ginger, orange zest and juice into a saucepan. On a high heat, bring the contents of the pan to a simmer, stirring well.

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the butter. Add in the flour and use a wooden spoon to mix to a dough consistency. Allow to cool slightly, then wrap in clingfilm and refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes before rolling it out. Preheat the oven to 180ºC fan.

To construct the gingerbread house: first draw two templates using a sheet of paper. For the front and back of the house draw a triangle measuring 15x10x15cm. Use a knife to cut out a small door in one of the triangles. For the sloping roof, draw a rectangle with sides measuring 15cm x10cm.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the ginger dough out to 4mm thickness. Use a sharp knife and the paper templates to cut out two triangles and two rectangles, of equal size. Use any remaining dough to cut out tree shapes and to bake a 20cm-wide ginger base for the house.

Place the dough templates on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, leaving space between them as the dough may expand slightly.

Bake for 15 minutes or until the edges are beginning to turn dark golden in colour, then turn the oven down to 160ºC and let them bake for another five-10 minutes without browning further. Remove from the oven and after one minute, carefully lift them up with a palette knife and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely (so the biscuit remains as crisp as possible).

To make the icing: place the sieved icing sugar in a large mixing bowl with the egg white and lemon juice. Start mixing on the lowest speed until combined, then increase the mixing speed, whisking for about four minutes until the icing has a firm satin-like consistency (add in a drop or two of lemon juice if it looks very dry or too stiff for piping). Place half the royal icing in a piping bag fitted with a small nozzle with a pen-tip size opening. Place the remaining icing in a second piping bag with a larger nozzle or use a scissors to snip an opening to your required size.

To create a gingerbread house scene: pipe thick white icing along the triangle edges to be cemented to the roof. Gently press the roof against the cement edges as though you were balancing two playing cards together. Pipe cement along the top where the two roofs join. Leave the cemented house to dry for two-four hours.

Roll out white icing and cut it to a nice shape that will sit on the gingerbread base. Gently lift the house and position it on the white icing.

Use the thin-tip piping nozzle to create dainty lines around doors and dots on the roof. Use the thicker-tip piping bag to add thicker snow effects around the gutters and other edges of the house. Decorate with edible baubles (or colourful sweets and candy canes). Store in a cool, dry place (and cover overnight) so it lasts as long as possible!

CHRISTMAS PAVLOVA WREATH

Ingredients

Serves 6

4 large egg whites, stored at room temperature

2½tsp cornflour

1tsp white wine vinegar

½tsp vanilla extract

275g caster sugar

3tbsp freshly boiled hot water

250ml freshly whipped cream

450g fresh berries (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries)

10g toasted flaked almonds

Mint leaves

Optional: physalis berries and colourful edible flours

Optional: miniature Pavlovas

To serve: fruit coulis

Method

Preheat oven to 120ºC (conventional oven). On the reverse of a sheet of parchment paper, use a pencil to clearly outline a 24cm circle (use a dinner plate). Then use a smaller plate to outline a smaller 18cm circle inside the larger circle. Turn the paper over and place on a greased baking sheet.

Place egg whites in a spotlessly clean, grease-free mixing bowl (for use with an electric mixer). Next add in the cornflour, vinegar and vanilla extract.

Pile the caster sugar in a high mound on one side of the bowl. Prepare the electric mixer and carefully pour three tablespoons of freshly boiled hot water directly onto the sugar (do not pour it directly on the egg), then immediately turn on the whisk. It is important to whisk the mixture for at least 15 minutes on a medium-high setting, after which the meringue should be voluminous and stiffly whipped.

If you plan to decorate the Pavlova with a few miniature Pavlovas, set aside a large spoonful of meringue and use a piping bag with a star nozzle to create some mini meringues (which can be baked with the Pavlova).

Use a large spoon to place high piles of the meringue between the two drawn-out lines. Without flattening down the meringue, use a spatula to smooth upwards and even the edges into a uniform round. Run the back of a clean spoon over the centre of the rim to provide an even top (where the cream and fruit will be added later).

Bake on a low shelf of the preheated oven for one hour, and, resisting the temptation to open the oven door, leave it to cool down fully in the oven (preferably overnight).

When ready to serve, top with freshly whipped cream and any selection of freshly prepared berries, nuts, miniature pavlovas and edible flowers. Serve immediately with fruit coulis.